stealing Lobster Pots
 

I had some brand new pots either cut or stolen last weekend. This theft stuff is getting out of hand. I am out 350 bucks for the pots stolen and those pots were not in the water more then 2 weeks. Double buoyss with HD gear. I am POed at the moment and I am thinking of rigging some dummy pots and buoys with cement block but the line is loaded with razor blades and putting them in the same place again. Do you think this is evil?

Where were you fishing?

That usually has ALOT to do with it.

I wouldn't do that. Just your luck it's kids doing it and you'll get in big trouble when they get cut up by your Booby trap. Although justified in some minds , it won't be in court! :)

that does suck though. Too bad you can't put out a couple and watch them. if you see its a commercial guy cutting your line or stealing your pots , then you take 'appropriate measures".

You're a Inginier, devise a massive paint exploder or indellible ink thingy in a plastic lobster shell (large size but no V notxh please :tooth: ). When the Yahoo comes into to town with paint all over the body and the hull, you'll have your victim (just remember which pot you did it with :smash:

Maybe they weren't deliberately cut or stolen? Could be somebody wasn't watching where they were going and cut them off accidentally? Did you try grappling for them?

THAT SUCKS.

Like Mike said, did you grapple for it?

If you put them anywhere near where the fishboats plow through, fuggetiboutit. They don't care. They just chew em up in the prop.

The kelp cutters on the boats I race on do a GREAT job on pot line. (Only had to do it once in BB.... tr#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g along at almost 25 knots... you don't exactly have much time to react to a lobster trap bouy... and they certainly have a hard time slowing the boat down.)

I am going out this week with a peeper, wet suit and grapling hook. I know exactly where they were. I serioulsy doubt all mine disappeared while the other guys pot remained. One pot was in dangerous waters for a boat to be even thinking of getting into in about 8' of rocky water. Someone had to want to get them. I know exactly where they were and can see the bottom clearly on low tide with my peeper. If I don't find them I may "go postal".

That wicked sux..go getum.

Sandman..... :rotf3: get a few mannequin heads and stick them in the pots......when those SOB's pull them up they will get the shock of their lives maybe call the cops to report the heads and then get caught.....but they will get the %$%$%$%$e' scared out of them! :rotf3:

I know a guy who would pull a pot, take the lobsters and leave a bottle inside. One day he grabbed the warp loaded with razor blades. He got hurt pretty good, his revenge was to then cut every line that sported those colors. For the season. Don't do it just watch as much as you can and hope for a little luck.

TRY A LITTLE OF BOTH OPTIONS...
 

LOAD UP THE DUMMY TRAP LINES WITH RAZOR BLADES OR BARBED WIRE, SECURED TO A CEMENT BLOCK. IF THE DIRTBAG HAPPENS TO GET CUT TO SHREDS AND COMES AFTER YOU, YOU CLAIM THAT THE POTS WERE STOLEN, AND YOU COULDN'T AFFORD TO REPLACE THEM, SO THEY COULDN'T HAVE BEEN YOUR COLORS. (PLAUSIBLRE DENIABILITY)
"HEY, WHY WERE YOU PULLING THOSE TRAPS IF THOSE AREN'T YOUR COLORS?" (REALLY GETTING CAUGHT "RED-HANDED")

Exactly what Jake said will happen, or worse yet, they'll be waiting for you to fish your traps.

With a shotgun.

There's far better and more mature methods of handling this situation.
If you can find some cheap braid and strip the core from it, run a peice of cable in it (in the sheath left over from pulling the core out of the braid after completely filling the trap with bricks (careful... it'll be heavy.... REAL heavy)
cable goes to the bouy from the trap, when they throw it on the hydroslave (most people who steal pots are stealing them to use them) say goodbye to the hydroslave, most likely cook it with that type of load.

A few heads are better than one! :rotf3: :rotf2: :jester:

POTS
 

Is it the first time Mr. Sandman? I found when I had my pots the only tme they were damaged is when I laid them out contrary to the direction the commercial guys laid them out. You'll know when and if you locate them them with the peeper. If they are there but lines cut, it was a commercial guy who did it. Another thought is that a commercial guy is pissed your in that area. As far as rocks and eight feet of water are concerned I have seen some pretty good size craft hauling really close to rocks, hust feet away while the captain control both the hauler and the boat. I used to find them open quite often, and almost caught the guy in the bid wellcraft that was stealing from me. I was coming up on him as fast as I could but he spotted me. He took off before I could see the hull numbers to i.d. the boat for a certainty. A couple of weeks later I see the same boat and what appeared to be the same guy and his girlfriend putting on a sex show of sorts at anchor just off Plymouth beach close to the point across the channel from the bug light and motored right up to the transom where she was, well nothing more needs to be said as far as that is concerned. Anyway he gets really pissed when I motored up to the boat, which the closer I got the more I'm sure this is the same huge wellcraft. He starts holloring at me acusing me of being a pervert for getting to close to his action. I told him now that I know his hull numbers he'd better stay away from my traps. He found out that it wasn't the show I was interested in. I told him I was sure it was the same boat that I saw and tried to chase to no avail last week. We had a little stare down. Me in my 16' Sturdee skiff, him in his 40" Wellcraft. He took off and I checked and baited my traps and they were never bothered again. What ever the problem good luck. And I'm sure you wont lower yourself to the scoundrels level, at least not during daylight hours........

Sandman I got a couple of pots that are sitting in my back yard not getting too many lobsters, if you want them there yours.

I would suggest to rig the pot to a waterproof radio frequentcy transmitter that will set of a alarm that you may carry on your person such as a beeper.

It's a small Island, becarefull
vb

Thanks for everyones comments. I am still POed. My pots were not near a comm set. I understand turf wars to an extent but my 5 pots are not going to put a dent in lobster population. I am a peaceful man but can almost justify the razor rope approach. In my view, one should not touch anothers gear, ever. My only problem is the shellfish constable has the right to pull pots to check for legal traps, escape vents, hog ties that rust, ect. I made sure my traps met the law because I know he goes out there and checks. (we have a new constable). So for the sake of HIS hands I will not do the razor rope. I plan on talking with him today to see what we can do.

razor blades???

you guys either need a good therapist or have watched too many charles bronson films.. I have a hunch Mr Sandman is smart enough not to do that.













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razorblades rust over time. use C-4 underwater demolitions grade explosives :hihi:

revenge
 

just take some dental floss and tie in some 1-O gama's eye down facing the trap with the dental floss wrapped around the hook shank holding it to the trap line
@ every 2' of line the last 10' where the person really hauls on it to get it up
only you know theyre there so you avoid them anybody else is sol
it works good

Your ignorance never ceases to amaze me...

You REALLY don't fish the islands much do you?

No, I don't-- but I am more than familiar with people such as yourself that think you know everything :jester:

Exactly. :rotf2:

Likwid, you are always so full of knowledge-- why don't you just tell him how to find and get his traps back. You MUST have an answer for that too???

He already knows how to get his traps back.
Now why don't you instead of being an asshat contribute something constructive here instead of crapping up threads?

knock it off gentlemen.

Hooks do work well..so I've been told.

few years back most of the traps were getting hit by someone..in an area that has alot of family permitt trapper's...one early evening a friend was walking down the boatyard dock and saw a kid and his girlfriend with a bucket load of bug's...thinking this was abit strange cause he knew the farther that owned the boat and they didn't have trap's....the kid never got to use the boat again that year.

I've been putting out trap's for more than 28 year's...I stopped 4 years ago because of all the stealing that was going on...I was doing all the work and the turd's were taking all the profit's. now the traps sit behind the fence rotting away...it became cheaper to buy the bug's.

210 grain 30-06 @ 600yds!... :)

I am convinced that the human being is the least admirable animal on the planet.....too bad we don't eat our young like other species......I am in favor of a mandatory idiot test for every American on their 18th birthday...pass and you get to stay in the US....fail and you need to find another country to live in......test to be re-administered randomly throughout your adult life.

I have had the best luck using single pot set ups. Try 2 buoys/1 pot if you're afraid of prop cut offs. You won't lay over a commercial line and that is where most problems occur. MOST commercial guys will cut and re-tie your lines but some seem to forget the re-tie part.

Rocky bottom
 

Sandman, where is the rocky bottom your wrote of in the first post. PM me if you'd like with the reply. I used to live on the Vineyard and for the life of me i cannot think of where ou speak, unless of course its north of Menemsha harbor by Split Rock.

:hidin:

Found them......
In todays paper!
http://www.mvtimes.com/News/06092005...s/lobster.html
(mine are the yellow white and green ones in the background)

Good thing I didn't put the razor rope to work eh?


I have a call in to this guy :nailem: but according to the news article I must be in violation of some kind. I think I know what the "issue" is but we well see.

Sandy,
I'm sure we would all be interested to hear what he says.

curious about why he pulled pots
 

I wonder if you will be able to recitfy the problem with the traps. This is the only time I ever heard of this kind of proactive work by an EPO. Good in a way. Wish they would wrok on people poaching short stripers. Let us know what happens Sandman.

Glad you at least found out what happened to them. Also seems a little fishy that they are targeting this enforcement on the recreational lobstermen. Seems to me like maybe the comm guys had something to do with this sudden activity to decrease the recreational guys cut of the pie.

redlite: there's a good answer to why in the article sandman posted.
and it makes alot of sense.

I have not spoken to the officer yet but I don't think I will have much of a problem. If I was wrong I deserve a fine or whatever. I have no problem with enforcement of the rules. I got some miss information from the state during a phone call and acted on it. I think this is the problem and it should not be much of an issue. I'll let you know the details.

Frankly, I am glad I willbe able to get them back and will fix anything to conform.

This is a new guy and he has been doing his job, somewhat agressively some think....All I can say is DON'T GET CAUGHT WITH A SCUP THAT IS LESS THEN 10.5" $100/FISH. This includes bass fisherman. Since the scup season ends on 8/31 for recs I plan to watch what he does with great interest at the "kids derby" in september when 4 and 5 year olds are catching scup off the dock. He is also patroling the hotspots looking for guys keeping short bass. There have been complaints of fisherman seeing other fisherman keeping sorts. I support any enforcement in this area. (Although disagree with the DMF new rule to allow importation of sub 28" fish caught from other states (ie MD). Expect to see 18" MD stripers in the fish market this year. :af:

Do you know any of the comms? Flatter them by telling them you would value they're opinion on how to handle a problem..... they might just A. start looking out for you and your gear, B. have a good laugh behind your back, or C. might pass along some good info.